Death Penalty: Seven Nigerians executed — ASF France

Avocats Sans Frontières France – Lawyers without Borders France – said at least seven Nigerians have been executed between 2007 and 2016.

This was disclosed in a statement by the ASF France as it marked the World Day Against the Death Penalty 2023.

It also called for an Official Moratorium in Nigeria.

The Country Director, ASF France in Nigeria, Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, observed that every October 10, the World Day Against the Death Penalty unifies the global abolitionist movement and mobilises civil society, political leaders, lawyers, public opinion and more to support the call for the universal abolition of capital punishment.

Uzoma-Iwuchukwu added that the day encourages and consolidates the political and general awareness of the worldwide movement against the death penalty.

She said: “Avocats Sans Frontières France (Lawyers without Borders France) strongly opposes the death penalty under all circumstances without exception.

“The death penalty should be completely abolished from all justice systems as it flagrantly violates the fundamental right to life.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) acknowledges the inherent right to life for every individual, thus, any attempt to end a person’s life in the name of justice even by a state is a violation of this right.

“Moreover, the death penalty is also a discriminatory pattern in its application worldwide, the death penalty is disproportionately used against disadvantaged people, particularly the poor.”

According to Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, this year’s theme emphasises the concept of “irreversible torture”.